A Journey of Meals and Muscles

Tag Archives: nutritional yeast

I made this bell pepper pesto sauce out of necessity. With dutiful pruning of my basil plant, pinching off blossoms, and adding some fresh cuttings back into the pot that I propagated from clippings, I have an over-abundance of basil… again. What’s a girl to do, but to make more pesto? I also gave some away! =D

I invited one of my friends from work over for lunch on Memorial Day. I originally purchased the bell peppers fully intent on experimenting with a raw version of a romesco sauce, but then the basil explosion happened. The raw romesco sauce experiment is still on my to-do list though, I promise. I think I will wait until the peppers in my porch jungle are ready though. I would love to be able to make it with the main ingredient being something I grew myself. Growing my own food brings me such satisfaction!

So, having both peppers and basil, I decided to combine them into a tasty sauce. I used a little flax seed oil to give it nutty flavor without actually introducing nuts, which I am trying to limit in order to keep my fat and omega 6 intake lower. I used a little nutritional yeast to give it a slightly cheesy flavor, and I used half an avocado to give it a slightly creamy texture. Spread into 2 or 3 portions, it is really not much avocado per person. The rest of the ingredients were just seasoning and texture. Of course, by now, my regular readers know that I like to add fermented foods to my recipes whenever possible, so this one got some fermented garlic and raw ACV added as well. You are welcome to use powdered garlic instead if you don’t happen to have any fermented garlic laying around though. 😉

Anyway, my lovely friend Divya gave the recipe two thumbs up. After the main course, I served some fresh chopped fruit with a sauce of lemon, local raw honey, cinnamon, and ginger for dessert. I also washed my meal down with a rather large glass of home brewed probiotic-filled jun!

Zucchini Noodles w/Bell Pepper Pesto

2014-05-27 19:16:07

Serves 2

A seasonal dish that incorporates all of the summer favorites: zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, and basil! This recipe is easy to prepare and offers a twist to the traditional pesto sauce by incorporating luscious sweet yellow bell peppers.

Spiral cut (or julienne cut) the zucchini into noodles. Sprinkle with salt and mix in with your hands. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes (when they are soft and "noodle-y" in texture) and then rinse the salt off the noodles using a large strainer or colander. This is enough time to blend the sauce and get everything else set up.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to the blender until they are well-incorporated.

Chop up the tomatoes for the dish.

If your noodles are done, stack them up on a plate.

Pour the sauce on top of the noodles.

Add the tomatoes, sprouts, and pumpkin seeds. Top with a few basil leaves, if desired.

Enjoy!

Notes

If you are opposed to nutritional yeast in raw food recipes, you may omit it. It lends a subtlety cheesy flavor if you are sharing the dish with non-raw friends or non-vegans.

It is best to eat the sauce fresh. I found that it did not keep well the second day. The addition of avocado caused the top layer to brown and the flavor was not as fresh.

If this is your main dish, serve it as 2 portions with a large and visually impressive stack of noodles. If you have side dishes, break it up into 3 portions.

The addition of juicy ripe tomatoes really adds an extra depth of flavor to the dish. I recommend that you add plenty of them. Mine were fresh from the garden! 🙂

I was very happy with the way this raw vegan cream of broccoli soup recipe turned out. I know I’ve struck recipe gold when my husband says, “Wow, this isn’t bad!” Albeit, he added rice and hot sauce to it, but as I got him to eat a vegan meal, I still consider it a success, especially considering the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever seen him eat broccoli of his own volition. 😉

Believe it or not, raw broccoli was a vegetable that I used to dislike and avoid. I always knew it was good for me, but I struggled to find ways to make it work in its uncooked form. After drinking green smoothies for so long, my tastes have changed dramatically, and I now love all of the cruciferous vegetables.

I think this recipe works well because the soup base is made using broccoli stems, which provide a nice mellow flavor. Most people usually discard the stems, but I think they have a lot to offer, and I embrace finding ways to use them. After I finished this recipe, I spiral cut the leftover stems to use as noodles in another recipe that I will be posting later this week.

What I really found to be beneficial about this recipe is that it is easily adaptable so that I can feed both myself and my husband. I follow a diet that is high in raw foods and predominantly vegan, while my husband does neither. He avoids dairy though, so he appreciates any creamy or cheesy non-dairy recipes that I prepare.

For the members of your household who may not want to eat raw or even vegan, you can cook their portions of the soup without having to make a separate meal, add rice to make it more familiar and comfortable, or add nutritional yeast to make it more “cheesy”, and they’d still be eating a completely vegan meal that is healthier than their normal fare.

Regarding the health benefits of broccoli, it is high in fiber and will sweep out those intestines while helping to lower cholesterol. It is also loaded with Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. It is a powerful cancer fighter. Broccoli also aids in the metabolism of Vitamin D, is anti-inflammatory, and helps to mitigate problems with allergies.

Raw Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

2014-04-16 07:53:56

Serves 4

A healthy raw vegan cream of broccoli soup recipe that is easy to modify as a delicious vegan dish for your non-raw family members.

I had just a few Cubanelle peppers left over from my last trip to the farmer’s market, and I’ve been wanting to try a stuffed peppers recipe for a while, so I made a go of it while my husband was around for taste testing. If he’s not around when I work on my recipes, he sometimes won’t get any. 😉

My first thought in trying to make a version for him and a version for me involved using rice and goat cheese as a filling for his stuffed peppers, but we had a lot of projects planned for the afternoon, so I opted for a more efficient solution. I decided to make a filling that would work well both raw and cooked, so he could have some warmth and softer textures in his version and I wouldn’t have to do as many dishes.

I made a vegan cheese-like sauce with a nut base and some nutritional yeast, and I shredded some orange cauliflower to use as a rice substitute. Both versions came out well, but I thought the flavor of the sauce was a bit zestier in the raw version. To my surprise, he actually enjoyed the raw version. Rather than using a fork and knife, as with the cooked version, he just picked it up and ate it as finger food. 🙂

Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Cheesy Cauliflower Rice

2014-03-30 20:57:57

A vegan stuffed pepper recipe that is flavorful, low carb, and grain free! You can eat it as a raw vegan meal or bake it for a softer and more warming meal for your guests.